Master Pei! Don't force yourself into a circle that doesn't want you to.

Shen Jicheng was terrified all day long, and even slept restlessly at night. He dreamed that a snake was chasing him, and even a snake bit his lip, which terrified him so much that he bit it back.

All I could hear was the sound of someone gasping for air.

Shen Jicheng opened his eyes in a panic, but before he could even see clearly, his cheeks were instantly grabbed by two hands, and a cold, sinister voice rang out.

"Try biting me again? You think I won't throw you into a snake pit?"

Shen Jicheng felt wronged and aggrieved. How did he know that Pei Lin was kissing him? He protested in a low voice, "I didn't know I was biting your lips. I thought a snake was chasing me and biting me."

His cheeks were pinched painfully, and he tried to break free, but when he met Pei Lin's dark and cold gaze, he felt terrified and dared not move.

Pei Lin didn't say anything in the end, and licked away the blood from his bitten lips.

After being released, Shen Jicheng hurriedly sat up in bed. When he met the other person's gaze, he pursed his lips and spoke with difficulty.

"I don't want to sleep with you... I want to sleep in my own room..."

The moment the words were spoken, the air seemed to freeze.

He could feel that oppressive gaze fixed intently on him.

Say it again.

A cold voice rang in my ears.

Shen Jicheng's hands clenched tightly at his sides, perhaps due to the other party's threat, or perhaps out of fear of being thrown into the snake pit, he remained silent. The two remained locked in a stalemate for an unknown amount of time, until someone pulled his shoulders into an embrace and then lay down.

Pei Lin hugged him, covered him with the blanket, and spoke in a much gentler tone.

"Be good, don't make me angry."

He didn't give Shen Jicheng any choice, and Shen Jicheng knew he had no way out.

The night air was a bit chilly.

Pei Lin woke up once in the middle of the night, disturbed by the little guy next to him. He is a light sleeper, and the slightest noise can wake him up.

He woke up to find the person beside him covered in cold sweat, mumbling incoherently in their sleep. He leaned closer and could only hear a few words repeating over and over.

"Don't chase me...don't bite me..."

It was clearly a shadow cast by the daytime, causing nightmares at night.

Pei Lin casually pulled Shen Jicheng, who was far away from him, into his arms, gently patted his shoulder, and whispered, "I won't chase you, and I won't bite you."

"Be a good girl and I'll give you whatever you want."

Shen Jicheng didn't know when he fell asleep.

Perhaps those dreams were too tiring; they chased him all night and couldn't run anymore, so they sank down.

When I woke up again, it was already daylight.

He blinked groggily, his consciousness still lingering, when he first felt the warmth of the heat pressing against his back.

Pei Lin's arm was still draped over his waist.

Shen Jicheng froze.

The fragments of memory from last night weren't particularly clear. He remembered... many snakes chasing him, and finally someone hugged him and said...

"Be a good girl and I'll give you whatever you want."

He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he was hallucinating, which was why he heard Pei Lin's gentle voice. At that moment, he moved cautiously.

The arm around his waist tightened immediately. Shen Jicheng was afraid of waking Pei Lin, so he didn't dare to move and just lay there straight, waiting for Pei Lin to wake up.

I waited for a long time, so long that the glaring light from outside shone into the room.

The person behind him finally moved, burying their face in the back of his neck and rubbing their nose against his skin. It was very itchy, but Shen Jicheng didn't dare to move, his whole body tense.

Pei Lin woke up.

Noticing Shen Jicheng's tense body, he paused slightly, then lifted his head from Shen Jicheng's neck.

Those dark eyes, still damp from just waking up, had already regained their usual sharpness.

Shen Jicheng was still pretending to be asleep.

Hearing rustling sounds behind him, Pei Lin sat up.

"What time is it?" The voice was hoarse, with the low groan of someone just waking up.

Shen Jicheng knew this question was directed at him; he knew he was awake...

She silently reached for her phone under her pillow, glanced at it, and answered softly.

"...8:40."

Pei Lin hummed in response but didn't say anything more. Shen Jicheng heard him get out of bed, his footsteps heading towards the bathroom, followed by the sound of running water. Only then did he dare to move, slowly propping himself up to sit up.

Shen Jicheng stared at the crease on the blanket for a while, lost in thought.

The bathroom door suddenly opened. Pei Lin came out, already changed into a shirt, and was buttoning up his cuffs. His gaze swept over, lingering for a moment on Shen Jicheng's face.

"Go wash up," he said. "Go downstairs for breakfast."

His tone was completely different from last night. Not indifferent, but not gentle either.

Shen Jicheng obediently got out of bed, walked barefoot on the carpet, and head down towards the bathroom.

When I came downstairs, Pei Lin was already sitting at the dining table, holding a newspaper and with steaming coffee in front of him. Hearing footsteps, he didn't even look up, only saying, "Sit down and eat."

He sat down, picked up his chopsticks, took a small steamed bun, and took a bite.

Halfway through the meal, Zhang Xu walked in from outside, holding a folder. He whispered something in Pei Lin's ear. Pei Lin frowned.

"The young master of the Shen family is missing?"

At that moment, Shen Jicheng, who was drinking soy milk, suddenly choked and couldn't stop coughing.

Pei Lin frowned at him, "No one's going to take it from you, what's the rush?"

As he spoke, he patted him on the back.

Shen Jicheng remained silent, lowering his head and eating slowly.

Pei Lin then withdrew his hand and looked at Zhang Xu, "When did this happen?"

Zhang Xu answered truthfully, "It happened in the last two days. Young Master Shen has been sending people to search for him."

He continued his report, "I've heard that the young master of the Shen family has been a troublemaker since childhood, spoiled and unruly. The eldest young master of the Shen family has a lot of headaches because of this and dislikes his younger brother very much. So for all these years, he has never mentioned him to outsiders."

Shen Jicheng: "..." Troublemaker? Spoiled and unruly?

Pei Lin narrowed his eyes. "That's not necessarily true. If he really didn't like him, why would he be so anxious to find his brother when he went missing? Besides, the Shen family has kept this young master's whereabouts a secret for so many years. Isn't that protecting him? If he were truly unloved, how could he have developed such a spoiled and unruly nature?"

Zhang Xu suddenly realized, "You mean...?"

Pei Lin spoke coldly, "Shen Mingxiao, the eldest son of the Shen family, has never gotten along with me. If we can find the youngest son of the Shen family, we might be able to find something to hold against them."

"Yes."

Just as Zhang Xu was about to leave, Pei Lin remembered something and asked, "By the way, what's the young master of the Shen family's name?"

Zhang Xu paused, then hesitated, "It seems... his name is Shen Jicheng?"

Pei Lin withdrew his gaze and murmured something under his breath.

"Shen Jicheng..."

Meanwhile, Shen Jicheng, who was sitting right in front of him, silently lowered his head, pretending not to hear.

After Zhang Xu left, the living room became quiet again.

Shen Jicheng mechanically chewed on the xiaolongbao, racking his brain to see if he had let something slip.

"Know each other?" Two words suddenly floated over my head.

Shen Jicheng paused with his chopsticks, looked up, and met Pei Lin's eyes, which seemed to be smiling but not smiling.